Why the WORST time to update your LinkedIn profile is when you’re looking for a job or business opportunity
Currently looking for a job or new freelance or business opportunity? Find out why now is the worst time to update your Linkedin profile.
If you’re looking for a job or freelance work right now – perhaps you’re coming out of a career break, want to change role or have been laid off – you’ve probably got a long to-do list. And top of that list is likely to be: update CV and LinkedIn profile.
But, while this is indeed the perfect time to update your CV, you’re already far behind on the LinkedIn front.
Why? Because while most people lump them into the same category, your LinkedIn profile is a very different beast from your CV. And rather than being a one-time, static document that you dust off and try to promote when you’re looking for work or a business opportunity, you need to treat it like a living, breathing thing that needs to be continually loved.
Think of it as the Tamagotchi (remember them?) of your job hunting armoury.
Why LinkedIn is VERY different from a CV
To explain what we mean, and to compare, here’s how a CV works:
- You see a job you like (or notice a company you want to work for).
- You send off your CV.
- If you’re right for the job/company and they’re interested in you, they’ll invite you for an interview.
- At this point, your CV has served its purpose and is no longer needed.
Your LinkedIn profile works very differently. To start with, LinkedIn is a social platform. And ‘social’ means socialising – connecting with people, talking to people, finding interesting things to say to people.
The people who get the most out of LinkedIn, put the most INTO it
The people who get the most value from LinkedIn are the ones who put he time in. They’re posting and engaging. They’re active in the right groups. They’re growing their network and demonstrating value. And they’re getting noticed.
So when these people are looking for work or a business opportunity, they don’t just have a one-dimensional LinkedIn profile that looks like an online CV but gives nothing else about them away.
Instead they have a vibrant, active profile that shows them to be a respected, enthusiastic authority on their topic.
They also have a wide network to draw on when searching for opportunities. Which means that not only do they have more access to jobs and projects (and more ‘ins’ for roles before they’re even advertised), but they’re far more likely to impress employers, recruiters and clients when they check out their LinkedIn profile.
And check out they do. 87% of recruiters say they use LinkedIn to find or vet candidates.
A tale of two LinkedIn profiles – what happens when you look for a job
So imagine you’re going for a job. You’ve updated your CV and sent it off, and quickly refreshed your LinkedIn profile. Your experience is up to date and you’ve had a go at your summary (thought you didn’t know what to put there). You have about 50 connections and a couple of endorsements.
Activity-wise, you liked a friend’s update last year, and two years ago you shared something from the company you worked with at that time. Your profile isn’t terribly exciting, but it shows where you’ve worked, and that should tick the box for recruiters, right?
Let’s now compare your profile to someone who has invested time in theirs. Their experience is up to date, and their summary well written. They have hundreds of connections and endorsements, and a dozen or so recommendations. They’ve also written excellent recommendations for other senior people.
Their activity shows they’re highly active. They’ve written several articles sharing their experience and expertise, and these have attracted a number of positive comments and shares. They also regularly share high quality content they find, which gets plenty of engagement, and engage on others’ posts.
Now let’s say an employer is considering who to interview. They only have one interview spot left and they are comparing you with the active LinkedIn user.
Your CVs show a comparable level of experience and achievement. And the only differentiation at this point is how you use LinkedIn. So – who do you think they’ll choose to interview? Who would YOU choose to interview?
LinkedIn isn’t just for jobs
And it’s not just for jobs. LinkedIn is a powerful and important marketing tool for freelancers and business owners too.
The number of business owners, consultants and freelancers I speak to who have gained valuable connections, opportunities and even clients and work from LinkedIn is significant – and growing.
When I was a freelance copywriter, if a client didn’t initially find me via LinkedIn, they had always checked me out there before deciding whether to get in touch.
So you can’t afford not to have a profile that is properly written – and to actively use it to grow your network. Just read through the tale of two job hunters and above, and imagine that was two freelancers looking for work, or two business owners hoping to be invited to be a speaker at an event.
The situation might be different but the result would be the same – if all else were equal, it would be the freelancer or entrepreneur with the most impressive profile who was more likely to get the call.
Don’t wait until it’s too late – start using Linkedin properly now
So if you’re serious about finding a job, securing freelance work or being noticed as an entrepreneur, don’t wait until you need LinkedIn, because it will already be too late.
Instead, start building your social karma on the platform now. Complete your profile using current best practice, and start engaging daily to demonstrate your value. And when you need LinkedIn, it will be ready to deliver the goods.
Need help mastering LinkedIn? Watch our masterclass
If you need help writing your LinkedIn profile and knowing how to engage on the platform, then watch our LinkedIn Masterclass.
In the hour-long class we’ll teach you how to confidently use LinkedIn to achieve your professional goals. Here’s what you’ll learn:
- The secret to AUTHENTIC success on LinkedIn
- Why you need to work out your 10 LinkedIn keywords before editing your profile
- Two easy ways to work out your keywords
- The six pieces of information people use to judge whether or not to click on your profile
- An easy way to test your LinkedIn headline
- The eight types of keywords that you need to add to your headline
- The five golden rules of the perfect LInkedIn photo
- Five questions you need to answer before writing your LinkedIn summary
- And the four whats it needs to include
- The ideal professional-personal balance you need to strike
- Eight things you need to include in your experience section to wow
- Why your skills section is so important and how to use it properly
- Easy ways to get more skills and recommendations (and the two things you need to do)
- What LinkedIn karma is – and how to get it
- The two reasons why you need to comment more on LinkedIn
- The perfect mix of content you need to share on LinkedIn
- How to use the 80:20 rule
- The secret to writing LinkedIn articles people will love and share
- And what to do if you’re stuck for inspiration
- How often you should post and share on LinkedIn
- 19 ideas to help you promote your LinkedIn profile
After watching this class you’ll be able to confidently and knowledgeably be able to edit your LinkedIn profile for the opportunities and connections you want to attract.
And importantly, you’ll also understand how to properly use the platform to become a high valued member, and get engagement on your content.
“The best online class I’ve done – fantastic value!”
If you’d love to master LinkedIn and confidently start using it to get more opportunities, then make sure you watch this class.
Sign up now and you can watch the class immediately. You also have lifetime access to the class and supporting documents, so you can return to it whenever you need.
As well as a recording of the class you get:
- A copy of the class slides.
- An ebook of the full class notes.
- A quick cheat sheet with 19 ways you can promote your profile.
- Links to resources that answer questions in the class.
This has been one of the most popular classes we have run, and was described by one attendee as “The best online class I’ve done – fantastic value!”
So if you’d love to finally master LinkedIn, and make sure you attract the opportunities your competition are currently snapping up, watch our LinkedIn Masterclass right now.
Photo by Brooke Cagle
